A storage box for holding small things is provided in the interior of an automobile. Some storage boxes are so constructed that a lid of a storage box is opened by depressing a depressed portion (hereinafter referred to as a “push button”) (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-331876).
A storage box disclosed in 2002-331876 includes a storage pocket for holding small things and a lid for opening and closing an opening of the storage pocket. The lid is provided with a locking hook and an unlocking push button.
To open the lid from a closed position, the push button is depressed to release engagement between the hook and a striker. Thus, since only depressing the push button permits the lid to open, a passenger can easily open the lid.
However, since the above storage box has the lid opened only by depressing the push button, when an object in the vehicle interior (hereinafter referred to as an impacting object) strikes the push button, the push button can be depressed by the impacting object. If the push button is depressed, the lid can be opened inadvertently. Thus, there is room for improvement in being able to prevent opening of the box even when the push button is inadvertently depressed.